In light of the increasing number of spurious "royal experts" infiltrating the media, Princess Palace has created this online testing and training center/centre (a.k.a. trivia quizzes) to facilitate the recognition and certification of actual royal experts. Anyone receiving certification may add C.R.E. (certified royal expert) after one's name. This site is created and maintained entirely for fun. Its creator asserts no authority for certifying anyone's qualifications for anything.

In light of the increasing number of spurious "royal experts" infiltrating the media, Princess Palace has created this online testing and training center/centre (a.k.a. trivia quizzes) to facilitate the recognition and certification of actual royal experts. Anyone receiving certification may add C.R.E. (certified royal expert) after one's name. This site is created and maintained entirely for fun. Its creator asserts no authority for certifying anyone's qualifications for anything. ;)

27 February 2011

1. My first cousin was king, and I was the next in line. My cousin did not have any children, and after my death, my son became my cousin’s heir. When my son died, my grandson became the heir, but when my dear cousin, the King died, the throne was usurped. In spite of this usurpation of the throne, the right line of succession was eventually resolved. Who am I?

2. I was a grandchild of Edward III, who married a lady of superior lineage. My wife died in childbirth, leaving me with a son and daughter. I lost my titles and property, and my life for plotting against the king.

3. I was never a king, but I was father to a king and two queens. My descendants have sat on thrones in Scotland and in England, although I would never have thought it legal! My ducal title is still extant.

4. Let’s just say I was a very pushy mother, determined to see my only son on the throne. Although I was born one side of the War of the Roses, I saw the need to bring the two houses together, by conspiring with my enemies. I lived to see my son and grandson become kings.

5. I was a very, very important – and I mean important – player in the War of the Roses. I had riches and power as a peer. I had all the right connections, made the right marriage, changes sides, arranged for removal of two kings. Proud Papa, too, as my two daughters made THREE VERY IMPORTANT MARRIAGES! I did what I needed to do .. for the family, and for England. I gave my life for the cause.

25 February 2011

1. Although the title is traditionally given to the monarch's second son, several Dukes of York eventually inherited the throne. Who were they?

Five of the 14 Dukes of York eventually became king. Edward IV was the first Duke of York to take the throne--literally. A great-grandson of King Edward III, he defeated the Lancastrian King Henry VI.

Henry VIII's older brother Arthur Prince of Wales had died in his teens leaving behind a young widow, Catherine of Aragon, whom Henry married and later divorced. [Read Catherine's story.]

Charles I's older brother Henry Prince of Wales died of typhoid at age 18.

James II became king when his older brother Charles II failed to have any legitimate children, although the noble houses of England are filled with descendants of his bastards. Even Prince William is a descendant through his mother.

George V's older brother Albert Victor Duke of Clarence died of pneumonia at age 27 shortly after becoming engaged to Princess Mary of Teck, whom George then married. [Read their story.]

George VI assumed the throne following the abdication of his brother King Edward VIII. His story is depicted in the recent award-winning film, "The King's Speech."

2. Which Duke of York earned the popular nickname the "Grand Old Duke of York"?
It is not clear which Duke of York has been immortalized in this nursery song. There are three possible contenders: Edward IV's father Richard Duke of York; King James II; and George III's second son Frederick Duke of York. Frederick seems the most likely candidate but there is no way to know whether the story even has a tie to an historical event at all.

3. For which Duke of York was the city of New Amsterdam renamed?
As Lord High Admiral, James Duke of York played an important role in England's war with the Dutch. When England captured the Dutch colony of New Netherland and its main city New Amsterdam, King Charles II renamed them both in honor of his brother, who later succeeded him as King James II. The city of Albany was also names in honor of James's Scottish title, Duke of Albany.

4. Queen Victoria did not give the Duke of York title to her second son. What title did he receive instead?

King George III had a host of disreputable sons who had been given the royal dukedoms of York, Clarence, Kent, Cumberland, Sussex and Cambridge. When George's granddaughter became Queen Victoria, she opted not to use any of these titles for his sons, not even Kent, which had been her father's title. Cumberland and Cambridge were still in use, but she could have used any of the others. However, she made her second son Prince Alfred the Duke of Edinburgh. He later inherited the German dukedom of Saxe-Coburg from his paternal uncle. Victoria gave her other younger sons the royal dukedoms of Connaught and Albany. Interestingly,three previous Dukes of Albany had also been Dukes of York. The choice of Edinburgh and Albany may have reflected Victoria's love of Scotland while Connaught, a new creation, underscored the British domination of Ireland. The title has been vacant since the death of Victoria's great-grandson in 1942. Since Connaught is now part of the Republic of Ireland, this title is unlikely to ever be re-created.

As her family grew, Victoria did resurrect the titles of Clarence and York for her grandsons, the sons of the Prince of Wales.

5. Which Dukes of York passed the title to his heir?
The title Duke of York has only passed directly from father to son twice. The first Duke of York, Edmund of Langley, fourth son of Edward III passed it to his son Edward of Norwich. By the time Edward of Norwich died, the Yorkist branch of the royal family had been attainted due to treason and the title did not pass immediately to his son Richard. A decade later, however, the title was re-created for Richard, who then passed it to his son, the future Edward IV.

Of the remaining Dukes of York who did not inherit the throne, one died as a child, two never married and one had no children with his wife. The current Duke of York, Prince Andrew, has no heir for the title either because it is limited to the male line. Unless he re-marries and has a son, the title will die out again with him.

a. Order of the Seraphim: Sweden
b. Order of the Golden Fleece: Spain (there is also an Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece)
c. Order of the Elephant: Denmark
d. Order of St. Olav: Norway
e. Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau: Trick question: the order is given by both the Grand Duke of Luxembourg (as the highest national order) and the Queen of the Netherlands (as a house/dynastic order, for personal service to the sovereign).

2. You are the Crown Prince(ss) of ABCland, and the Royal Family is about to host a state visit from the King and Queen of XYZania. You've received a lot of orders over the years, so out of your many sashes, which one do you wear for the photoshoot?
The general rule is that on a state visit, one should wear his or her highest-level order from the country he or she wishes to honor. Thus, as Crown Prince(ss) of ABCland, you would wear the highest order you've received from XYZania, unless you haven't received one yet, in which case you would wear your highest-level order from ABCland. Since state visits are mutual appreciation societies, the XYZanian royals would wear ABClandic orders, if they had any.

3. On which shoulder are most sashes worn? When is a sash never worn over the shoulder?
Most sashes are worn right shoulder to left hip, except for a few, including the Order of the Garter and the Order of the Elephant. To complicate things, if a man is wearing white tie, then the sash isn't worn over the shoulder at all, but under the arm.

4. Many royals also wear bows on their shoulders with their orders and decorations at formal events. What's so special about them, and what would you have to do (or be) to get one?

The bows are badges of membership in the Royal Family Order of the monarch. For instance, Queen Elizabeth II wears the Royal Family Orders of her father and grandfather. They are given in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway to titled female members of the royal family. Receipt of the order is not automatic, though: Diana, Princess of Wales and The Countess of Wessex received one, but Sarah, Duchess of York never did, and neither have the Queen's granddaughters.

5. Usually, a recipient of the highest grades of an order will receive a star to pin to his or her side in addition to a sash. But one British order also gives out the item for which it is named. Which order is it?
The Order of the Garter. (I would certainly not want it to be the Danish Order of the Elephant!) [You can see the blue garter on George IV's left calf in this image.]

13 February 2011

This quiz is presented by Certified Royal Expert Robyn H., P.C.R.E. You may submit your answers using the comment link or by e-mailing princessesreign@gmail.com.

1. In which countries are the following orders given?
a. Order of the Seraphim
b. Order of the Golden Fleece
c. Order of the Elephant
d. Order of St. Olav
e. Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau

2. You are the Crown Prince(ss) of ABCland, and the Royal Family is about to host a state visit from the King and Queen of XYZania. You've received a lot of orders over the years, so out of your many sashes, which one do you wear for the photoshoot?

3. On which shoulder are most sashes worn? When is a sash never worn over the shoulder?

4. Many royals also wear bows on their shoulders with their orders and decorations at formal events. What's so special about them, and what would you have to do (or be) to get one?

5. Usually, a recipient of the highest grades of an order will receive a star to pin to his or her side in addition to a sash. But one British order also gives out the item for which it is named. Which order is it?

1. Everyone knows the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand sparked World War I, but he wasn't the only one to die that day. Who else fell victim to Gavrilo Princip?

Franz Ferdinand's wife, Sophie Chotek Duchess of Hohenberg, was with him that fateful day and suffered the same fate. She is less remembered to history partly because she was not a "royal" wife. Because she was of lower rank, theirs was a morganatic marriage, which meant that she was his legal wife but was denied his rank and style and she came after all of the archduchesses in precedence, even though she was married to the imperial heir. It also meant that their children were legitimate but not royal/imperial dynasts; they could not inherit the throne or their father's titles.

2. Likewise, the whole world is familiar with the Romanov murders in a basement in Ekaterinburg, but they weren't the only imperial victims of the Revolution. Who else met an end at the hands of the Bolsheviks?
We were looking for the one other female imperial victim, Grand Duchess Elizabeth, who had become a nun after her husband, the tsar's uncle Grand Duke Serge Mikhailovich, was assassinated in a bomb attack a few years earlier. Born a princess of Hesse, Elizabeth was also Empress Alexandra's sister. On 17 July 1918, she and several other imperial family members and a couple other people were beaten and shoved into a mine shaft. Hand grenades were then tossed into the mine. According to some accounts, Elizabeth survived the initial attack and was heard to be singing. When the bodies were later discovered, it appeared that she had even bandaged the head of one of the other victims before she died.

There were many other imperial family members who died. As Robyn H., D.C.R.E., points out, "The Bolsheviks clearly learned Revolution 101 from the French." However, they don't seem to have followed the French example of turning executions into public entertainment; most of the imperial murders were carried out in secret and shrouded with disinformation for a long time.

Others who died in the mine with Elizabeth were a different Grand Duke Serge Mikhailovich, the brother Princes John Constantinovich, Constantine Constantinovich and Igor Constantinovich and their cousin Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley.

And, as many of you Royal Experts mentioned, the tsar and his family were accompanied by several members of their household: Dr. Eugene Botkin, Anna Demidova, Alexei Trupp and Ivan Kharitonov, who were permitted to stay with the family in their final captivity. Several other loyal retainers had been forced to leave. A pet dog also died with them.

3. Which imperial lady had a deadly encounter with a stiletto while on holiday?
This seems to have been the most challenging question in Royal Expert history. Perhaps it also stumped Google and Wikipedia...

The lady in question is Empress Elizabeth of Austria, often remembered as Sisi. The restless Elizabeth traveled frequently and was especially restless after the murder-suicide of her son Crown Prince Rudolph. (Read Tragic Death on Princess Palace.) On this occasion she was about to board a boat on Lake Geneva when she was stabbed by the mentally ill anarchist Luigi Lucheni whose only goal was to kill a royal. The knife was so small, that no one saw it and initially thought he had just run into her. She was rushed to safety aboard the boat. Wrapped in layers of corsets and clothing, even Elizabeth did not realize she had been stabbed. Then, she had trouble breathing. As clothes were removed, the wound was finally discovered, but it was too late for the boat to reach whatever help might have been available on shore.

4. Six million Jewish people were killed in the Holocaust; but even princesses were subjected to Nazi hatred. Which royal princess died in the concentration camp at Buchenwald?
Technically, Princess Mafalda of Savoy did not die at the hands of the Nazis. However, they had imprisoned her at Buchenwald, where she died of wounds received during an Allied bombing attack on the munitions factory that was being operated at the concentration camp. The 41-year-old princess was the daughter of the Italian king and the wife of Prince Philip of Hesse, who was himself a Nazi. She was traveling without her family when Hitler had her arrested for alleged subversive activities. Her death was not confirmed until Germany's defeat.

5. Henry VIII is famous for beheading his wives, but he wasn't the only queen-killing Tudor. Which queens or former queens were executed by Tudor monarchs?
The Tudors did seem to have a particular penchant for killing former queens. In addition to the two royal consorts--cousins Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard--deprived of their heads by Henry VIII, two queens regnant also met their fates at Tudor hands. Royal cousin Lady Jane Grey, a teenager who had usurped the throne and reigned for "nine days" after the death of Edward VI, was eventually executed by Queen Mary I, who feared uprisings in Jane's name. In the next reign, Queen Elizabeth I executed another royal cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, who had fled Scotland following her own abdication seeking refuge from Elizabeth. Although Mary was actually Elizabeth's heir, she could not trust her so she imprisoned her. Mary sealed her own fate by conspiring for Elizabeth's death. Eventually, Mary's son succeeded Elizabeth, uniting the thrones of England and Scotland. (For more, read Killing Queens on Princess Palace blog.)

06 February 2011

A university study recently concluded that throughout history, kingship has an unusually high rate of violent death versus other "careers." Turns out being a queen or princess is fairly dangerous, too.

1. Everyone knows the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand sparked World War I, but he wasn't the only one to die that day. Who else fell victim to Gavrilo Princip?

2. Likewise, the whole world is familiar with the Romanov murders in a basement in Ekaterinburg, but they weren't the only imperial victims of the Revolution. Who else met an end at the hands of the Bolsheviks?

3. Which imperial lady had a deadly encounter with a stiletto while on holiday?

4. Six million Jewish people were killed in the Holocaust; but even princesses were subjected to Nazi hatred. Which royal princess died in the concentration camp at Buchenwald?

5. Henry VIII is famous for beheading his wives, but he wasn't the only queen-killing Tudor. Which queens or former queens were executed by Tudor monarchs?

Since King Edward I first gave the title Prince of Wales to his son in the 13th century, there have been 21 Princes of Wales but only 10 princesses because some princes died young while others did not marry until after they became king. Of those 10 Princesses of Wales, three never became queen. Joan of Kent's husband Edward the Black Prince died before his father King Edward III in the 14th century. Augusta of Saxe-Gotha faced the same situation with her husband Frederick Prince of Wales in the 18th century. Most recently, Lady Diana Spencer divorced the current Prince of Wales, thereby ensuring that she would not become queen. It remains to be seen whether the current Princess of Wales, Camilla Shand, who chooses to use the title Duchess of Cornwall, will become queen even if her husband ascends the throne. At the time of their marriage, it was announced that she would use the title Princess Consort.

2. Which Princesses of Wales became queen after the death of the Prince of Wales?
Two other Princesses of Wales also outlived their Prince of Wales, but subsequently married a king. The first was Anne Neville who was 14 when she married Edward Prince of Wales, son of the Lancastrian King Henry VI. When her husband died a few months later and his father was murdered weeks after that, Anne's father the Earl of Warwick rode the changing tide of the Wars of the Roses and quickly married her off the Yorkist King Edward IV's brother Richard Duke of Gloucester. When Edward IV's young sons disappeared in the the Tower of London, Richard became the infamous King Richard III.

In the next century, the 16-year-old Spanish Princess Catherine of Aragon was brought over to lend some more legitimacy to the newly instituted House of Tudor by marrying King Henry VII's son Arthur Prince of Wales. Soon after the wedding, bride and groom both became ill; she recovered but he did not. The next eight years in political, emotional and financial turmoil as her former father-in-law tried to figure out how to keep her dowry without necessarily keeping her since her political value dropped after the death of her mother Queen Isabella. Fortunately (or maybe not!), Henry VII died and his second son, the new King Henry VIII came to her rescue and made her his first queen. [Read more about Catherine of Aragon]

3. How many Princesses of Wales have been British?

Half of the Princesses of Wales were born in England: Joan of Kent, Anne Neville, Lady Diana Spencer, Camilla Shand and, less obviously, Princess Mary of Teck. Although technically a Germanic princess, the future Queen Mary was the daughter of a British princess, Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, a first cousin of Queen Victoria. All four of the Teck children were born in Kensington Palace and the Teck family was considered part of the British royal family. In fact, when the British royals forsook their German names and titles, the Tecks did too. Queen Mary's two living brothers became the Marquess of Cambridge and the Earl of Athlone.

Even without her English birth, Mary of Teck was technically a British subject under the 1701 Act of Settlement, which granted that right to descendents of Electress Sophia of Hanover. Under this act, Princesses of Wales Caroline of Brunswick and Alexandra of Denmark could also lay claim to British citizenship.

4. How many Princesses of Wales never had children?
All of the Princesses of Wales have had children, although not always with the Prince of Wales. Anne Neville and Catherine of Aragon had children with their later husbands. Joan of Kent and Camilla Shand each had children with earlier husbands; Joan also had a couple with the prince. All of the others had children only with the prince.

5. How many Princesses of Wales were divorced?
Only Lady Diana Spencer was divorced from her Prince of Wales but several others had other marriages legally ended. Camilla Shand is divorced from her first husband, Andrew Parker-Bowles. Joan of Kent had one earlier marriage annulled. At age 12, she secretly married Sir Thomas Holland. About a year later, while he was on Crusade, her family forced her to marry the Earl of Salisbury. When Holland returned, he was stunned to find his wife married to someone else and took his case to the king and the pope. Much to Joan's relief, the pope ordered her to return to her first love and officially annulled the Salisbury marriage. Catherine of Aragon's later marriage to King Henry VIII was annulled against her wishes. Afterward, she was officially styled as the Dowager Princess of Wales as she had been during her earlier widowhood but she never acknowledged the dissolution of her marriage.

One other Princess of Wales was in perpetual danger of being divorced. Caroline of Brunswick's husband absolutely hated her. He launched two separate official investigations into her questionable conduct in order to find enough evidence to justify a divorce. Despite her crude, raucous behavior, his efforts were thwarted. Much to his dismay, she legally became his queen but he did not allow her to be crowned.
____________________

A Note on Mary Tudor: Princess of Wales?
Several respondents included comments about the future Queen Mary I, oldest daughter of Henry VIII. Although he is infamous for his overweening drive to produce a male heir, in the 1520s, Henry seems to have accepted Mary as his heir, sending her to preside over Ludlow Castle in Wales just as his father had done with Arthur Prince of Wales a generation earlier. Mary was never officially created Princess of Wales, but she was referred to that way. During this period, Henry also explored numerous diplomatic marriage possibilities for her. By the 1530s, he had clearly changed his mind and even declared her a bastard with no royal inheritance rights. Before his death, he reinstated her to line of succession after her young half-brother.

01 February 2011

Princes William and Harry have often been referred to as "The Heir and the Spare." Throughout history, the British line of succession has been somewhat precarious.

1. How many English monarchs since the Norman Conquest have been directly succeeded by their firstborn son?
Relatively few. William the Conqueror himself was succeeded by his third son, William II, who seized the throne while his oldest brother wasn't looking. (The second son had died as a teen while hunting in the New Forest, which seems to have been a very deadly place.)

The first firstborn son to succeed the English throne was Henry III who followed his father King John 150 years after the conquest. Then, Henry III was succeeded by his own firstborn son Edward I.

The others were Edward II to Edward III; Henry V to Henry VI; Edward IV to Edward V; George I to George II; George III to George IV; and George V to Edward VIII.

The only time a reigning queen has been succeeded by her firstborn son was when Queen Victoria was succeeded by her son Edward VII. In fact, that is the only time an English queen has ever been succeeded by her own child. Let's see if Elizabeth II becomes the second to do so or if, as some suggest, Charles will be skipped over for his son, William--an unlikely occurrence by my estimation.

So, out of 43 monarchs, only nine were succeeded by their firstborn sons.

[Others offered by respondents included Henry IV to Henry V, but Henry actually had an earlier son named Edward who died after four days. Another suggestion, Henry VIII was suceeded by his first surviving son, Lady Jane Seymour's child, Edward VI; but Henry had several sons by his first two wives, including two who lived long enough to be named Henry, one of whom was even named Prince of Wales. And, in the case of Charles I to Charles II, not only was there an infant older brother named Charles James, but Charles II technically did not succeed his father directly because of the interregnum following the Civil War.]

2. How many English monarchs since the Norman Conquest have been directly succeeded by their firstborn daughter?
This list is of course much shorter since there have been so few reigning queens. However, only one-third of six queens were the firstborn daughters AND directly followed their fathers. Mary II succeeded her father James II after the Glorious Revolution of 1688; she reigned jointly with her husband/cousin William III. The only other firstborn daughter to directly succeed her father is the current Queen Elizabeth II who followed her father George VI.

It could be argued that Mary I was the firstborn daughter of Henry VIII since her only older sister was stillborn. However, she succeeded her brother Edward VI rather than her father.

Finally, several respondents also point to the case of Empress Matilda, who became known as the "Lady of the English." She was the firstborn daughter of Henry II, who had the barons swear allegiance to her as his heir. However, she was out of the country when he died and her cousin Stephen usurped the throne. Stephen and Matilda fought a nasty back-and-forth war for many years. At one point, Matilda did seize control of London and could have been proclaimed queen, but she didn't take care of that business quickly enough. The Londoners were stunned by her high-handedness and soon kicked her out of the city. Ultimately, the conflict was resolved when Stephen agreed to make Matilda's son Henry his heir. [Read my post about Empress Matilda at Princess Palace.]

3. Which English king had the most children become an English monarch?
King Henry VIII literally moved heaven to try to have a living male heir. In his efforts, he married six women, separated the Church of England from the Church in Rome, and fathered only three children who lived beyond early infancy. All three of these children eventually succeeded to the throne. They were, in order of their reigns, Edward VI (the last born), Mary I and Elizabeth I.

Another monarch who technically had three children accede was Henry II. In an effort to ensure an uncontested succession for his son, Henry II (who remember only became king after a bitter war between his mother and her cousin) decided to have his oldest living son crowned king during his own lifetime. This son, also called Henry, was not given a regnal number but he did become known as the Young King. While Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine had a huge and healthy brood of children, they led risky lives on the battlefield and in the tournaments. Young King Henry died of dysentery contracted on the battlefield while fighting his father. Leaving no heirs of his own, his place was taken by the next son Richard who was decidedly not crowned during his father's lifetime--partly because he was also warring against his father--but he did succeed him upon his death. When Richard, who spent a matter of only days with his wife, also died without heirs, the throne skipped over the children of the next brother Geoffrey (who died in a tournament) to Henry's youngest son King John. John made Geoffrey's son disappear and kept his daughter imprisoned to solidify his grasp on the throne. So, Henry II did have three regal offspring: Henry, Richard the Lion Heart and King John. [Thanks for the tip, Yvonne Strongman, V.C.R.E.]

4. Which kings were immediately succeeded by their grandchild?
In England, the Prince of Wales has twice predeceased his father but left a living heir to succeed. It first happened when the long-lived Edward III's celebrated son Edward the Black Prince died at the age of 46, leaving behind a 13-year-old son who became Richard II ten years later. It was Richard's death without children that eventually sparked the Wars of the Roses among the descendants of Edward III's other sons.

It happened once again almost 400 years later when the not nearly so beloved Frederick Prince of Wales died at age 44, having fathered nine children, including the future George III who became king nine years later upon the death of his grandfather George II. George II and Frederick had despised each other. Hate, in fact, would not be too strong of a word. The enmity between them was strengthened by the distance placed between them by George's father George I. When the Hanoverian George I became King of England, he allowed his only son, whom he did not like, to come to England, but he forced him to leave his oldest son and heir in Germany. By the time, George II became king, his family had been without the truculent Frederick for so long that George delayed bringing the young man across the Channel. The two were never able to heal their relationship.

5. Which 20th century British monarchs were not firstborn children?
Three of the five 20th century British monarchs were not firstborn children. Edward VII, while the oldest son, was the second child of Queen Victoria. His successor was his second-born son George V and George V's second son succeeded as George VI when the firstborn Edward VIII abdicated.

One other 20th century monarch was the firstborn (and only legitimate) child of her father, the Duke of Kent, but she was the third child of her mother, Victoire of Saxe-Coburg. Although she may not seem very 20th century, Queen Victoria did not die until January 1901 so she just barely qualifies. [Thanks for that one goes to Ella Kay, V.C.R.E.]

About Cheryl Anderson

Cheryl has a wide range of interests from science to history to the arts, but her overriding preoccupation is with royalty. She has been studying the history of royal Europe for the last 30 years. She is a self-proclaimed geek, a moderately good cook and a so-so karate instructor. (Guess which one of those three is an untruth.)